No evidence of link between Dreamliner fire and batteries: AAIB

Emergency crew surrounds a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, which caught fire at Britain's Heathrow airport in this July 12, 2013 still image taken from video.Pool via Reuters TV

LONDON (Reuters) - There is no evidence at this stage that a fire that broke out on a Boeing Dreamliner at London's Heathrow Airport on Friday was linked to the aircraft's batteries, Britain's Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said on Saturday.

"There has been extensive heat damage in the upper portion of the rear fuselage, a complex part of the aircraft, and the initial investigation is likely to take several days," the AAIB said in a statement.

"However, it is clear that this heat damage is remote from the area in which the aircraft main and APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) batteries are located, and, at this stage, there is no evidence of a direct causal relationship."